Apparatus and method for handling coil springs



Nov. 1, 1966 J. v. LOOSEMORE 3,282,619

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR HANDLING COIL SPRINGS Filed Sept. 18, 1964 INVENTOR. JOHN V. LOOSEMORE' Attorne United States Patent 3,282,619 APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR HANDLING COIL SPRINGS John V. Loosemore, Crown Point, Ind., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 18, 1964, Ser. No. 397,384 9 Claims. (Cl. 294-1S) This invention relates to apparatus and method for handling coil springs, particularly heavy, bulky type of springs such as are found in railcar truck frames.

Coil springs are commonly lifted. from railcar truck frames by hand. Since the springs are heavy and bulky, they are difficult to pick up and carry by hand, and workmen have frequently pinched and cut their fingers and hands on them. Springs of the double coil type, with one relatively small spring inserted within a larger spring, are even more difiicult and dangerous to handle. To remove such springs, the small spring must be lifted out of the large spring, or the two springs must somehow be lifted and carried together. Either operation is a dangerous one when performed by hand.

Prior types of lifting devices and methods of employing the same have not been found satisfactory for picking up these large, heavy springs, due to the lack of a Secure hooking means that could be easily attached to a spring. This problem has been particularly acute in the lifting of the double coil type springs.

The apparatus I have invented for handling coil springs is a grapple that includes a main hook member and a second hook member that are pivotally connected together in an improved arrangement that enables the secure engagement of a coil spring. The grapple is easily attached. to the spring by a novel and improved method, and the spring is lifted and carried by a convenient handle on the grapple.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an apparatus and method for lifting coil springs safely and easily.

Another object of my invention is to provide a grapple that will lift a wide variety of sizes and types of coil springs, including the large double coil springs found in railcar truck frames.

These and other objects will appear more readily from the following description of my invention and the attached drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of grapple embodying my invention;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of the grapple of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the grapple of FIG- URE 1 just prior to its engagement with a coil spring shown in section; and

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of the grapple of FIG- URE 1 fully engaged with a coil spring shown in section.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2, the grapple includes a main hook member 12 and a second hook member 14. The main hook member 12 has a curved. hook portion 16, a shank 1S, and a handle 21) welded to the top of the shank 18. The second hook member 14 has a shank 21, a neck portion 22, and a second curved hook porticn 23- extending away from the shank 21 toward the main hook member 12. The hook portion 16 is preferably longer and has a wider radius than the second hook portion 23.

A slot 24 is provided in the shank 18 of hook member 12, through which slides the neck 22 of second book member 14. A lug 26 on the upper end of hook member 14 and a shoulder 28 below the neck 22 serve to restrict the movement of neck 22 within the slot 24. A sliding pivotal connection is thus made between the hook members 12 and 14, permitting the second hook 3,282,619 Patented Nov. 1, 1966 member 14 to be pulled away from the shank 18, as Well as rotated. A lifting lug 30 is welded to the second hook member 14 to provide a place for grasping the latter for the purpose of rotating it or pulling it away from the shank 13.

In operation, a workman holds the grapple 10 in the horizontal position shown in FIGURE 3, with the hook portion 16 depending over the central opening of a double coil spring S to be lifted. In this position, the second hook member 14 has its shoulder 28 and the tip of its hook portion 23 resting on the shank 18 of the main hook member 12. The grapple is then lowered in the direction of arrow at until the hook portion 16 extends down into the central opening of coil spring S. Then the workman, holding handle 20 with one hand, rotates the main hook member 12 in the direction of arrow b, while at the same time he grasps the lifting lug 30 with his other hand and lifts and rotates the hook member 14 in the direction of arrow c. As the grapple 10 is brought to the upright position shown in FIGURE 4, the hook portion 16 slides between the coils on the right side of spring S and is long enough to hook onto both inner coil winding x and outer coil winding y. Meanwhile, the workman by means of lug 30 keeps the second hook member 14 extended so that the second hook portion 16 will clear the coil windings on the left side of spring S as the grapple 10 is being raised to its upright position. Then from the exterior of the spring, the second. hook member 14 is hooked onto outer coil winding y on the left side of the spring S, as viewed in FIGURE 4. After the grapple 10 is hooked to the spring, the workman lifts the grapple and spring by pulling upwardly on the handle 20 It will be seen that by having one hook engaging a coil winding from the central opening of the spring on one side and another hook engaging a coil winding from the exterior of the other side of the spring, a very safe and secure attachment is effected. If for any reason the hook members 12 and 14 were to swing apart while the spring S was suspended by the grapple 10, the spring would tend to be pulled to the left of the grapple, as viewed in FIGURE 4. In such an event, the windings x and y on the right side of the spring would remain securely held by the main hook member 12, and this would be the case even if the second hook member 14 were to become detached. On the other hand, if the hook members 12 and 14 were caused. to be swung together, the spring S would tend to be pushed to the right of the grapple, as viewed in FIGURE 4. Then, the winding y on the left side of the outer coil would remain securely held by the sec-0nd hook member 14, and the winding x on the right side of the inner coil would. still remain on the main hook member 12 due to the length of its curved hook portion 16.

The grapple 10 may be detached from the spring S simply by swinging the main hook member 12 a little to the left, as viewed in FIGURE 4 and pulling outward and then upward on lug 30 to detach the second hook member 14 from coil winding y on the left side of the spring. Then, while holding the second hook member 14 clear of the spring S, the main hook member 12 is rotated to the right, as viewed in FIGURE 4, back tothe horizontal position shown in FIGURE 3. In this position, the second book portion 16 may be easily raised out of the central opening of spring S.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described herein, modifications may of course be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for handling a coil spring comprising a main member having a shank and a hook portion at the a?) lower end of said shank for hooking onto a winding on one side of said spring, and a second member having a second shank and a second hook portion at the bottom end of said second shank for hooking onto a winding on the side of said spring opposite from said first named hook portion, said hook portions being disposed in substantially the same plane and extending from their respective shanks in substantially the same direction, and said shanks being pivotally connected together in a manner permitting said second member to be rotated in said plane in which the hook portions of said members are disposed.

2. Apparatus according to claim i in which the shank of said main member has a slot therethrough, a portion of the shank of said second member is inserted in said slot and has freedom to rotate and to slide within said slot, and said second shank has a lug on the end thereof limiting the outward movement of said second member away from said shank of said main member.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 including a lifting ing on the shank of said second member for pulling said second member in a direction opposite from the direction in which said hook portions extend from their respective shanks, and a handle on the shank of said main member for lifting said members and spring held thereby.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said hook portion of said main member is of a length sufiicient for supporting both the inner and outer coil windings of a double coil type spring.

5. Apparatus for handling a coil spring comprising a main member having a shank disposed with its bottom end within the central opening of said coil spring, a hook portion on the bottom end of said shank extending between the coil windings on one side of said spring, and a second member having a second shank pivotally connected to the shank of said main hook member, said second shank extending from said main hook member over the portion of said coil windings on the opposite side of said spring from where said main hook portion extends through said coil windings, said second member having a second hook portion on the bottom end of said second shank on the exterior of said spring, said second hook portion extending from its shank in the same direction as 4. said first hook portion and between said coil windings on said opposite side of the spring.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which the shank of said main member has a slot therethrough, a portion of the shank of said second member is inserted in said slot and has freedom to rotate and to slide within said slot, and said second shank has a lug on the end thereof limiting the outward movement of said second member away from said shank of said main member.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 including a lifting ing on the shank of said second member for pulling said second member in a direction opposite from the direction in which said hook portions extend from their respective shanks, and a handle on the shank of said main member for lifting said members and spring held thereby.

8. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said spring to be lifted is a double coil type, and said hook portion of said main member extends through both the inner and outer coil windings on one side of said spring.

9. A method of engaging a coil spring with a grapple having a main hook member and a second hook member pivotally connected to each other, comprising the steps of inserting the hook portion of said main hook member into the central opening of said spring with the shank of said main member held generally perpendicular to the axis of said spring, rotating said main member until said shank is generally parallel to said axis, thereby sliding said hook portion between the coil windings on one side of said spring, lifting said pivoted second hook member during said rotation of the main hook member so that said second member extends over the portion of said coil windings on the opposite side of said spring from where said main hook portion extends through said coil windings, and hooking said second member onto said coil windings on said opposite side of the spring.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1917 Cooking 294Z8 8/1940 Durant 294l5 

1. APPARATUS FOR HANDLING A COIL SPRING COMPRISING A MAIN MEMBER HAVING A SHANK AND A HOOK PORTON AT THE LOWER END OF SAID SHANK FOR HOOKING ONTO A WINDING ON ONE SIDE OF SAID SPRING, AND A SECOND MEMBER HAVING A SECOND SHANK AND A SECOND HOOK PORTION AT THE BOTTOM END OF SAID SECOND SHANK FOR HOOKING ONTO A WINDING ON THE SIDE OF SAID SPRING OPPOSITE FROM SAID FIRST NAMED HOOK PORTION, SAID HOOK PORTIONS BEING DISPOSED IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME PLANE AND EXTENDING FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE SHANKS IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DIRECTION, AND SAID SHANKS BEING PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TOGETHER IN A MANNER PERMITTING SAID SECOND MEMBER TO BE ROTATED IN SAID PLANE IN WHICH THE HOOK PORTIONS OF SAID MEMBERS ARE DISPOSED. 